


The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

by East_Of_Akkala



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bromance, Fluff, Gen, Huddling For Warmth, Mild Angst, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sharing a Bed, and blankets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27820483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/East_Of_Akkala/pseuds/East_Of_Akkala
Summary: Bucky always worries about Steve, or more specifically keeping him warm, in the winter. Just a short bit of gen fluff.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Kudos: 10





	The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this in February 2016. It appears here basically unaltered from its original state. Enjoy!

Winter wasn't so bad, really. Sometimes it could even be beautiful when the streets and housetops were dusted with white, when the children were out playing, when the snow fell and brought with it a hush that could even be felt in busy, bustling Brooklyn.

The problems winter brought along, however, were problems Bucky could do without.

With beauty, winter brought cold. It was cold he could never escape, or at least not in the little apartment he shared with Steve. With things being as they were, they couldn't afford proper heating. Hell, they could barely afford proper food, and that was with both of them tightening their belts.

Personally, Bucky was fine with the cold. He could down a cup of thin, bitter coffee in the morning to help him out a bit and live with the temperature. It was Steve he worried about. He was sickly even at the best times of the year. The cold got to him, and badly. If he were to catch something life-threatening, it would be during that time of year. At the very least, he'd never be able to be warm. Bucky would always catch him shivering, no matter how many threadbare clothes he had piled on his skinny frame.

It wasn't that Bucky didn't think that Steve was strong. He was one of the strongest people Bucky knew. If Steve didn't have a spirit tempered with steel, Bucky suspected that he would've been gone long ago, dragged under by one of the many health issues he had or the difficult life that had been thrust upon him. But having an unbreakable spirit and an unbreakable body were two different things entirely, and Steve did _not_ have the latter. In fact, he often looked as though a strong gust of wind could blow him away.

So the winter came, and Bucky worried. He did his best to keep his friend warm, safe, healthy, but it wasn't always easy. He never told Steve how much he worried, of course. Steve would probably brush it off, or even be embarrassed. As it was, he probably sensed a bit of his friend's concern. If he did, though, he said nothing, just did his best to soldier on and ignore any problems he might have been having, just like he always did.

Tonight, Bucky could hear Steve wheezing in the bed next to his, sounding dangerously close to some sort of chest cold. Once again, their heating was off, and they were each huddled under the warmest blankets they owned. Steve had two wrapping him tightly, and would've had a third if he didn't insist Bucky keep one.

"I don't want _you_ sick, Buck!" he'd protested when Bucky offered him his last blanket. "I'll be fine."

Even so, Bucky would've far preferred Steve to stay warm. He would have been able to rest more easily that way. Maybe it would only have been one blanket, but that was still one blanket more, just a bit of warmth more, than what he had just then.

Just then, he thought of something. So long as Steve didn't mind, perhaps this would be a better way for both of them to keep warm. Truth be told, he _was_ a bit chilled. Perhaps he didn't care (or at least, could tolerate it), but it would always be preferable to stay warm.

"Hey, Steve?" he whispered. "You still awake?" He already knew the answer to that, of course, but might as well humor his friend.

"Yeah. What is it?" Steve's voice, muffled either by a cold or by the blankets, spoke up in response.

"Can I try something to keep you warm?"

"Bucky, I don't-"

"It'll keep me warm too, you punk. Let me finish."

"Alright," Steve sighed a moment later, sounding skeptical. Bucky stood up, wrapped the sheet around his shoulders like a cape, and made his way over to Steve's bed.

"Scoot over. You're small, but so's the bed," Bucky ordered him, and Steve complied. As soon as he'd done so, the brunet unwrapped the blanket from around his body and threw it over the bed.

"No, wait-" Steve started to protest. Bucky shushed him by holding up a finger, then pulled all three blankets back and climbed underneath so that he was next to Steve.

"There. Now we'll both stay warm," he declared, closing his eyes. "Comfortable?"

"Yeah," Steve agreed. The bed was fairly small, and he was left resting his head on his friend's shoulder rather than the pillow. He didn't mind; he was considerably warmer.

"G'night, Steve," Bucky murmured, silently promising he'd stay awake just a little longer to make sure his friend was breathing more easily.

"'Night, Bucky," Steve replied, leaning into his friend and all the warmth he provided in spite of himself, and closing his eyes as well.

**Author's Note:**

> It's always great when one of my favorite characters in a series is in either my OTP or BroTP, but when it's both? Pure gold.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! If you'd like to, please leave any comments below.


End file.
